Talk:Why doesn't Frank Oz perform with the Muppets anymore?
Muppet Christmas Carol According to this page, Frank was physically involved with The Muppet Christmas Carol. However, on the page for that particular movie, there is a behind-the-scenes photograph of the director posing with Kermit and Miss Piggy and the latter is being held by Mike Quinn, while Steve Whitmire still has Kermit. So could we have been mistaken saying Frank was on the set, or did he do only some scenes, or what? Garrettk41 (talk) 04:14, December 18, 2012 (UTC) :I wouldn't read too much into a single photo - there are instances from the original three Muppet movies when other performers would put on Jim or Frank's puppets for a photo shoot or a particular scene. Frank may have just been busy (possibly even busy with other aspects of the film's production; as he was also an executive producer) when they were taking that particular photo of Kermit, Piggy and Caine. -- Brad D. (talk) 04:33, December 18, 2012 (UTC) :Yeah, in every movie, the principal puppeteers haven't performed their character in every single shot, plus this was a pose thing anyway. The call sheets for The Great Muppet Caper indicate that Louise Gold was Gonzo in the cab sequence, for example (possibly to free Dave Goelz to handle Beauregard, who had the larger role in that scene) and so on. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 05:53, December 18, 2012 (UTC) :::Alright. That makes sense. Since plenty of scenes have involved two characters done by the same performer. So assisting would definitely come into play. And I put the wrong name in my original remark. It's Michael Caine posing with them, not Brian Henson. Since he's dressed like that, my guess would be that Quinn was puppeteering Piggy during that last scene when Scrooge arrives at the Cratchit house on Christmas day. By the way, where did you get those call sheets. I might like to look at those. Garrettk41 (talk) 02:14, December 20, 2012 (UTC) ::::I don't have them (a set was auctioned off some years ago but nobody here could buy them), one was put up on Henson's Redbook; you can see the scan here (since it was for the cab/traffic sequence, it provides more useful info as far as stunt drivers than anything else). It's just as likely even that this wasn't even for the movie, but promotional shot where it's not practical to use posers but the actual puppeteers (or some puppeteers anyway) have to be there to pose with the actor (but again, it also depends on Oz's scheduling). -- Andrew Leal (talk) 03:40, December 20, 2012 (UTC) On Mike Quinn's page on here, it says he puppeteered Piggy and Fozzie in MCC. Since he's a member here, maybe he added that. Maybe we should ask him.User:Antsamthompson9 :The question isn't really that he *didn't* puppeteer the characters, just whether he was in fact the only puppeteer for them in every scene and thus Frank Oz wasn't involved at all (and that also assumes someone filled in as Sam; for Animal, well, that's not really a surprise). That's what's being questioned, although for the record, a check shows that the edit was made by a user who was banned for being unreliable and never cited the source (with Piggy, we have the behind the scenes shot obviously). In the film's credits, neither Louise Gold nor Mike Quinn receive character specific billing, just "With" (above the names of some who would show up in the full character list), since they can be heard in several distinct but mostly unnamed roles or solo lines in songs, and both most likely did some fill-in puppeteering for principal characters in certain shots. Still, assuming he still checks his page, it's good that you asked him, since that's definitely best evidence. Oh, and that picture was borrowed from Mike Quinn's website, where he does clarify it was for a photo shoot, not a scene from the movie, as seen here. He doesn't mention doing Piggy or Fozzie at all, but the omission isn't surprising if it really was mainly fill-in or assisting and a lesser part of his overall contribution compared to coordinating and all of those crowd scenes and solo singers. -- Andrew Leal (talk) 01:29, January 1, 2013 (UTC) I asked Mike, and he says Frank actually puppeteered Piggy and Fozzie in MCC.User:Antsamthompson9 '90s Muppet Projects In the interest of covering all bases for Oz's '90s Muppet work, I was thinking of including a note about Sam the Eagle's guest appearance on The Animal Show in the late '90s, and noting the fact that the dialogue was looped. I think its relevant. This is, after all, one of the few appearances that Sam made in the '90s, and its one of those gems that not too many people are aware of. Any objections?--Gonzofan (talk) 06:27, July 14, 2012 (UTC) :So, any comments at all? If not, then in a day or two I'll just add the note.--Gonzofan (talk) 07:17, July 15, 2012 (UTC) ::Alrighty then, I take it that this talk page entry has been noticed by others? If there are no objections or comments by later tonight, I'll just go ahead and add the note. I'm just trying to be upfront.--Gonzofan (talk) 00:45, July 17, 2012 (UTC) Cookie Monster Does anybody know the last time Oz came back to Sesame Street to do Cookie Monster? -- Goliath&Elisa 15:06, May 21, 2012 (UTC) ::I think the last time he performed Cookie Monster was for the Sesame Street movie The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Does anyone else know for sure? These days, whenever Oz comes back to Sesame Street he will usually just perform Grover and/or an Anything Muppet.--Gonzofan 18:48, May 21, 2012 (UTC) :::The last time he did Cookie was in Season 35 ("The First Time Me Eat Cookie" and episode 4075). His last Bert has been Season 37. - Oscarfan 19:17, May 21, 2012 (UTC) Involvement in MTI and MFS I'm pretty sure he was on-set for these, for a short while anyway. The scenes involving the Squire's first appearance and Piggy in the UFO Mania studio definitely do not have looped dialogue. What's the source that he wasn't on set for MTI at all? - Oscarfan 00:56, May 21, 2012 (UTC) ::Well, according to Kevin Clash and Peter Linz from those sourced Youtube interviews, during the filming of Muppet Treasure Island Oz was directing Bowfinger and during the production of Muppets from Space, he was editing Bowfinger. I assume that if he had been on either movie set for any time, it would have been specified by them. For example, Clash was able to specify that he only performed Clifford on set for about a week, and looped the rest. I personally am curious as you to how you can "tell" that Oz was on set. Looped dialogue can be seamless. It may have been noted on Muppet Central's FAQ page that Oz filmed a few scenes, but I'm not so sure how accurate that is. Any other thoughts?--Gonzofan 01:40, May 21, 2012 (UTC) :::Often, ADR is higher quality sound that what's recorded live on set. Just compare these two scenes from MTI: (start at 9:20) and (go to 1:44). The first one is certainly live, with Frank's little "thank you" ad-lib before his "twice" line. - Oscarfan 01:52, May 21, 2012 (UTC) ::::I'll have to find it, but I think Muppets from Space: The Making of Muppet Movie Magic has a photo of Oz on the UFO Mania set. I'd find it hard to beleive he would have visited the set without doing some physical performing. --Minor muppetz 02:04, May 21, 2012 (UTC) :::::Also, is that Bowfinger stuff correct (though I don't think it matters for the article itself)? I'd be surprised if it was shot during production of Muppet Treasure Island and edited during production of Muppets from Space, because that's a four-year gap. I don't think a movie would take that long to make (I figure he was working on either The Indian in the Cubbord or In & Out when Muppet Treasure Island was made). --Minor muppetz 02:11, May 21, 2012 (UTC) ::Yeah, you guys may be right about the audio difference and the photo. Alright then, I'll adjust the text.--Gonzofan 04:27, May 21, 2012 (UTC) :::I checked The Making of Muppet Movie Magic book, and there are two photos of Oz on the set of Muppets from Space, pages 25 (which shows Oz on the UFO Mania set and standing behind Piggy's desk) and 43. --Minor muppetz 21:04, May 21, 2012 (UTC) ::::Yeah, I saw those pictures too, that's when it was confirmed for me.--Gonzofan 00:00, May 22, 2012 (UTC)